Despite the United Nations Mission in Liberia or UNMIL’s failure
to extend its authority across the 15 political sub-divisions of Liberia,
a West African nation devastated by 14-year of bloody war, the high
command of the UN mission has revealed that it has so far disarmed over
33,600 ex-combatants.

The high command of the UN Mission in Liberia made the disclosure on
24 May on the UN sponsored and run electronic media outlet-UNMIL radio
on one of it talks shows, “Coffee Break”. On this 30-minute
program, relevant individuals make various reports covering the mission
daily activities to the public.

According to the report, the 33,600 are ex-combatants who submitted
to the on-going disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration
(DDRR) program during the last 39 days of the exercise, which is key
to listing peace to Liberia

But the UN Mission did not give the statistical outlook of the number
of ex-combatants who have so far discharged their arms and weapons from
each of the belligerent groups including the Liberians United for Reconciliation
and Democracy (LURD), Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) and
the former Government of Liberia (GOL).

The UN Mission, however, said during the 39 days of DDRR program, 16,000
ex-combatants have successfully gone through the demobilization exercise
while others are awaiting to undergo similar program. The mission also
indicated that 19,000 ex-combatants so far have been disarmed since
the resumption of the second phase of the DDRR program.

The UN mission, however, felt short to reveal the total number of arms
and weapons received during the 39 days of the DDRR exercise. Besides,
the mission did not give any statistics of the percent of child-soldiers,
female fighters and male fighters disarmed.

It is yet to be established as to which of the belligerent group has
the highest number of ex-combatants that discharged their arms and weapons
to UNMIL, although unconfirmed report graded the former Government of
Liberia (GOL), which forces first started to disarm to UNMIL.

But the former President of Liberia, Moses Z. Blah, one time told journalists
in Monrovia that the former GOL has about 30,000 ex-combatants while
the high commands of LURD and MODEL are yet to give the actual strength
of the fighting forces. It is believed that the former GOL the largest
ex-fighters force followed by LURD and MODEL.